Good Questions: State Fair Edition
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- More than 1.1 million guests have already visited the fair this summer, and their trips raised a lot of Good Questions. So from Pronto Pups to the fish at the DNR, Heather Brown answers your emails tonight.
Kaitlyn from Little Falls asks: How much money do Sweet Martha's and corn dogs make?
They are the two top-sellers at the Fair. Last year, all corn dogs -- Pronto Pups included -- brought in $2.3 million, and Sweet Martha's brought in $3.3 million.
Kim from Spicer and Harryet from Golden Valley want to know: Where do the fish in the DNR pond come from, and where do they go after the fair?
The DNR has a holding pond at its St. Paul location. It's stocked throughout the year and its only purpose is to house the State Fair fish.
Audrey from Minneapolis asks: How did "food-on-a-stick" start?
"In 1945 in Seattle on the boardwalk, they came up with the corn dog -- the pronto pup brand," Minnesota State Fair representative Dennis Larson said. "That came to Chicago in 1947 and came to Minnesota shortly thereafter."
After the 1947 Pronto Pup, there was a 50-year lull.
"It seems to have exploded in the past 20 years, when we came up with deep friend candy bars on a stick," Larson said. "What brought back food-on-a-stick? It was a novelty and then the media picked up on it."